Off-plan property sales in Dubai rose by 58 percent in the first five months of 2017 compared to same period last year, according to a report by Global Capital Partners-Reidin.

The data, based on the Dubai Land Department registered transactions, revealed 7,152 off-plan units were sold between January and May, compared to 4,521 units in the previous year.

The largest increase was recorded in Dubai South, adjacent to Al Maktoum International Airport and Dubai Expo 2020, with sales spiralling by 614 percent to 528 units compared to just 74 units last year.

Sales in Jumeirah Village Circle rose by 170 percent to 923 units compared to 342 units, followed by Dubai Creek Harbour increasing by 124 percent to 632 units from 282 units.

The three most-adversely affected communities were Akoya, Akoya Oxygen and Town Square, the data showed.

Akoya sales fell by 46 percent to 38 units from 70 units; Akoya Oxygen declined by 59 percent to 84 units from 207 units, while Town Square dropped by 28 percent to 281 units from 390 units, according to the data.

Sameer Lakhani, managing director, Global Capital Partners, said: “In 2017, as transaction volumes surged, developer launches appear to be recalibrating towards an equilibrium with the likelihood of back-ended and post-handover payment plans continued to be ‘tweaked’ in response to changes in the price cycle.”

He added that back-ended schemes have proliferated the real estate ecosystem and adopted by government-backed developers after first being introduced by private developers in early 2014.

“This has clearly been as part of measures to revive demand and its increasing popularity is reflected through the increase in number of transactions.”

In April, Ivana Gazivoda Vucinic, head of advisory and research, Chestertons MENA, said off-plan sales were up by 45 percent in the first quarter 2017, driven by incentives and improved payment plans.

She described the increase as “early signs of recovery”, despite concerns of oversupply.

The consultancy estimates 15,000 new units to be completed in 2017 compared to 16,000 units delivered last year.